Speaking strictly about the US here, though some might apply to other countries as well:

An entire generation got pretty much force-fed the idea that in order to be successful, normal human beings they must go to college. A whole bunch of parents/guardians/role models/community leaders/prettymuchfreakingeveryone buy into and then encourage that idea despite the fact that few 18-year old kids are ready for college, understand it, or even want to go in the first place. The result: a lot of disinterested kids going to college to emptily pursue a degree, most accumulating insane debt in the process... which all just so happens to have coincided with the growing necessity of having a college degree in order to qualify for any of the precious few jobs that offer more than a barely livable minimum wage.

I didn't encounter many kids at my school who weren't prepared for college, but there were clearly a lot who probably would not have gone through the whole charade if our job market didn't demand it so forcefully. (Of course, college isn't necessarily an expected destination for a large class of young people: almost primarily poor, a mix of under-resourced inner city youth of color, second-gen immigrants, and rural whites and blacks.) It sucks having to meet students where they are when so many fall so far short of the standards that higher education demands, but it's an unsurprising task given how spectacularly our country has failed at prioritizing its needs—especially since the post-war boom.

It's university, most people are there because they feel like they have to be, not because they give a shit.

Agreed (for the record). Nobody in undergrad is there to "throw themselves into their studies" unless they came to get away from the worst family ever.

Quote:

Originally Posted by thewho13

An entire generation got pretty much force-fed the idea that in order to be successful, normal human beings they must go to college. A whole bunch of parents/guardians/role models/community leaders/prettymuchfreakingeveryone buy into and then encourage that idea despite the fact that few 18-year old kids are ready for college, understand it, or even want to go in the first place. The result: a lot of disinterested kids going to college to emptily pursue a degree, most accumulating insane debt in the process... which all just so happens to have coincided with the growing necessity of having a college degree in order to qualify for any of the precious few jobs that offer more than a barely livable minimum wage.

Are you going to question my literacy and sobriety (again) for rightly pointing out how self-contradictory this is (again)?

Quote:

Originally Posted by chinesealpha

There's a good interview with GDL (No Man Walks Alone) on the other side of the tracks. Amongst other things, he talks about the gulf between swd and cm. Affairs of the heart.

He does casual well but I'm not sure about "bridging the gap" when most of the wares I've seen previewed have leaned heavily toward MC (if MC-cas).

An entire generation got pretty much force-fed the idea that in order to be successful, normal human beings they must go to college. ...which all just so happens to have coincided with the growing necessity of having a college degree in order to qualify for any of the precious few jobs that offer more than a barely livable minimum wage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenTribe

Are you going to question my literacy and sobriety (again) for rightly pointing out how self-contradictory this is (again)?

to be clear, I'm not defending thewho because I mostly just think he likes to hear(see) himself talk, but don't you think that's simply self-fulfilling rather than self contradicting? seems to me a lot of what's going on is simply a generation of kids who were told college was the path to success effectively displacing themselves as a result of a certain kind of education inflation

It's ridiculous that it's a requirement is part of my point. Sure it "makes sense" to then seek a degree but that doesn't just mean it's not an insane reality. Only very few people can take on that debt and still come out alright (i.e. secure an adequate wage-paying job) given how shitty the economy is right now. It's not only wrong but it's unsustainable. What exactly doesn't make sense about this to you?

I'm kind of on the opposite end of the contentedness spectrum right now. I don't think I've lost/gained any weight, but recently I feel like all of my clothes fit funny. Everything I own seems too safe/boring but I already blew my budget for the next few months. Those things and the fact that temps have been swinging from from 5º to 20ºC in single day has made getting dressed a total chore.